


supplementary material

by seventhstar



Series: soulmate stories [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M, Meta, Worldbuilding, story notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 19:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14268369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seventhstar/pseuds/seventhstar
Summary: These are the worldbuilding and character notes fromyour eyes have their silence.





	supplementary material

**Author's Note:**

> So here is what I have so far! This is based off of the comments and my notes from the fic. Sorry it took so long.

**DEVICE CULTURE**

The Devices are sold exclusively by the Device Corporation, which keeps the manufacturing process a very closely guarded secret. The ubiquity of Devices in most countries means that the corporation was able to lobby for laws that make tampering with a Device without the proper training illegal. These laws make it very difficult for independent studies of the Devices, and until recently, made it illegal to have the Device removed. Because the Device Corporation has a monopoly, many of their critics suggest internal corruption, arguing that since the company funds all Device-related studies and pays for Device-positive media, it’s impossible to objectively say whether or not they work. There is no evidence that the physical implantation of the Device is harmful, and so the Device Corp has successfully been able to argue that any emotional harm is due to failures on the part of the user, not the Device.

Device implantation is near-ubiquitous in most ‘developed’ countries (there are efforts to get Devices to impoverished people, but the need for expensive implantation equipment and the lack of security often limits them. Device Corp doesn’t like to send its equipment into places where they think it might be stolen.)

(‘Developed’ is in quotes because colonialism, etc.)

The actual process of Matching is a two tiered process. The initial Match is the firing of the Devices. These connections are recorded both by Device Corp and by the governments of most countries with widespread Match use. The rationale given for these records is to prevent Device tampering and to prevent ambiguity, but critics argue they are used to keep Matched individuals from trying to have relationships with anyone else. The Match ceremony is then a formal acknowledgement on behalf of both parties that they are soulmates; once the licence is signed, the Matched couple are eligible for legal benefits equivalent to the ones enjoyed by married couples. That said, even soulmates without a Match can apply for certain rights--to inherit after the death of their soulmate, power of attorney if they are injured, visiting rights in the hospital. Once the Match occurs, the romantic relationship is presumed.

Device and Match traditions vary widely from culture to culture. Device coverings range from discreet skin-toned patches to brightly colored wristbands to leaving the wrist bare. Most Match ceremonies lift wholesale from whatever wedding traditions are local. Match rings usually have gemstones matched to the color of the light on the Device (synthetic gemstones are a lot more popular in this verse) and sometimes the actual ring is matched to the color of the Device, too. (Diamonds are not popular for Match rings, since the white light only appears on Devices that haven’t fired.)

  * In more conservative countries, couples will deliberately chose rings that don’t match and avoid featuring the color of the their Match light in their weddings, to avoid exposing something they see as private.
  * Once a Device has been installed, even if your Device is removed, your soulmate’s Device can go off on its own. The official explanation for this phenomenon is unknown, and is often used as evidence by proponents of universal implantation
  * The general stance of proponents of universal implantation is the the Devices guarantee happiness for all individuals when used properly, and all the problems of Devices stem from noncompliance. This stance is bad for anyone who doesn’t want their soulmate--whether because their soulmate is abusive, because they’re aromantic, or because they’ve fallen in love with someone else--but pro-implantation activists also often push for relationship counseling, for low-cost implantation and increased access for those who want it.
  * Other things universal implantation proponents argue about: whether parents should be allowed to forced their minor children to have Devices implanted, whether minors should even be allowed implants, whether Device removal should be illegal, and whether Match ceremonies should be optional.
  * On the other hand, unMatch activists tend to come in two flavors: the corporate conspiracy types (the Devices are mind control devices, the Devices are the way Device Corp plans to take over the world, the Devices do nothing, etc) and the “free will” camp, who argue that even if the Devices work, they can’t work universally, and people have the right to choose their own relationships
  * There is a lot of debate about whether ‘marriage’ between nonsoulmates should even exist--even in the case of partners where both have lost their soulmate, there are people who argue that their relationship will never be as real as the one with their Match, so it doesn’t deserve the legal benefits of marriage. Even moderates who think marriage should be allowed want restrictions--only if the soulmate is deceased, imposing mandatory mourning periods, marriages shouldn’t be allowed if the person has no Device, etc.
  * There are still countries where divorce is not permitted in the case of Match ceremonies. I think that in the US, there was probably a lot of hand-wringing about whether existing divorce law even applied. In many countries, removing the Device is the only way to get out of a Match, and even then there are often legal difficulties if the Match ceremony has already occurred.
  * If Viktor and Mikhail has had a Match ceremony, even the removal of his Device wouldn’t have freed him in Russia--they’d have been legally tied together unless one of them died or Mikhail also removed his Device. If they both wanted to be freed, they could appeal to a court for an annulment, but there’s no guarantee they would get one.
  * Yuuri’s removal of his Device puts him in a weird situation legally--a one-sided Match doesn’t carry the same legal restrictions on him, but it would tie up his soulmate, since her Device would register as having fired. There are tests Device Corp could do if they wanted to confirm the Match (and reimplantation is possible), but no one could force Yuuri to do them. 
  * Adultery is in fact illegal in USA in real life, though there’s not really enforcement of those laws--but I imagine in a world with Devices, there would a lot of incentive for Device Corp to, say, use its enormous social and legal power to lobby for any laws that make it harder for soulmates to leave each other. And so maybe adultery would be a much bigger deal.
  * There are methods people use to fake Matches, ranging from filters to go over their Devices to make the lights look the same color to full on installing fake Devices. This is even easier in countries where the Device being covered is so important--in fact, there are places where strong taboos about asking about or looking at a person’s Device and the existence of locked Match registries means “fake Matches” are given the “don’t ask, don’t tell” treatment.



**THE FUTURE**

So what happened afterward?

In regards to their careers:

  * Yuuri and Viktor remained in Russia until Viktor retired, at which point they relocated to Japan. They remained in Japan until Yuuri retired, taking advantage of the support from Yuuri’s family and friends. Then they moved to a more permissive part of the world for several years. 
  * They were able to continue to have successful careers, despite the prejudice, and Yuuri did, in fact, win at least five gold medals. The scandal continued to dog them as long as they skated, but things did improve over time as the novelty faded. Most of their fellow skaters refrained from openly disparaging them; a few of their friends were openly supportive.



Did the hate ever stop?

  * No, but it did get better and better over time.
  * There are so many problems with the Device system and over time the sheer number of them allowed more protections for unMatch couples to exist. Eventually, Yuuri and Viktor’s marriage was recognized in Russia as equal to that of a Match ceremony. They were able to return to Japan after several years abroad when the tide of public opinion in Japan changed. 
  * Both of them used their celebrity status to campaign for unMatch rights, Viktor moreso than Yuuri, who found the attention as stressful as he did exciting. Over time they did make other unMatched friends, find acceptance in the community, and generally experienced a lot more support than they did in the events of the fic.
  * There was a lot of pressure on the two of them to be a model couple, since any signs of discontent were taken as proof that their relationship was a publicity stunt, or just about sex, or not real, etc. Sometimes this did make things hard between them, and there were definitely times when they argued and it was made worse by the fact they could only be mad at each other in private.



Did their families ever come around?

  * Yakov and Viktor never fully reconciled. After Lilia left Yakov, he blamed himself for the collapse of their relationship, and couldn’t accept that Viktor’s relationship with Mikhail was equally unsatisfying. He continued to coach Viktor and to an extent Yuuri until Viktor’s retirement, but their relationship remained strained, and his continued disapproval became part of the reason Viktor and Yuuri left St. Petersburg as soon as they were able. 
  * Viktor considered retiring earlier because of Yakov more than once, but Yuuri encouraged him not to give up, since once he stopped he wouldn’t be able to change his mind. 
  * Lilia, on the other hand, welcomed both of them. She provided Yuuri with a lot of valuable support while he was in Russia, and in the end she also left St. Petersburg to live in a more accepting environment. She remained close to Viktor and Yuuri for the rest of her life.
  * The Katsukis did come to Russia to visit Yuuri and Viktor. Once they saw for themselves that Yuuri was genuinely happy, their feelings towards Viktor softened. (Seeing the effect of Yakov’s vitriol in person probably helped.)



**MIKHAIL**

  * Mikhail is a biochemist and an academic, whose devotion to his science is on par with Viktor’s devotion to skating.
  * From the start, he was never particularly attracted to Viktor, who he saw as shallow and boring. He’d always assumed that as Viktor got older he would grow into someone Mikhail loved, but he never made any effort to facilitate the change; in his mind it was something that would happen, not something he had any input in. It was a huge shock to him when Yakov told him about Yuuri--he was suddenly almost thirty and faced with the prospect of being alone.
  * Mikhail had told very few people about his soulmate. Most of the people he knew thought he was single and unMatched, including his parents. When he went public about Viktor’s affair, it was a shock to everyone who knew him. The publicity quickly backfired as unMatch activists held him up as an example of everything wrong with the system and he was barraged with questions by his friends, family, and the media.
  * Mikhail moved out of Russia shortly after Viktor and Yuuri moved in, without telling anyone. He worked quietly for a pharmaceutical company for a few years, and then something unexpected happened. He fell in love.
  * The lady in question had lost her soulmate two months after they Matched, and worked at a supply company that worked with Mikhail’s department. They became friends, and eventually Mikhail was able to confide in her that his soulmate had left him. The two of them were never married, as she didn’t believe in marriage for couples that weren’t a Match, but they were happy together.
  * Despite Yuuri’s misgivings, Mikhail and Viktor resumed occasional contact. Viktor even allowed Mikhail to introduce him to his girlfriend so that she would have proof Mikhail’s soulmate wasn’t being cheated on. They were never friends, but they were able to be cordial for the rest of their lives. Mikhail did apologize.



**CHRIS**

  * Chris’s backstory never made it into the main fic, because it ended up not really being relevant.
  * Chris met his soulmate one summer in his early twenties. He was a student on holiday and a poet. They hit it off immediately, and at first, everything seemed perfect.
  * His soulmate decided to study abroad the next semester so they could be together longer while Chris was competing. But at the end of the semester, he intended to go back home to finish his education. Chris had assumed his soulmate intended to transfer so that they could be together.
  * They had a long and protracted argument about this--Chris felt like he was being abandoned, his soulmate felt like he was giving up his career dreams.
  * In the end, Chris was left alone. His soulmate had left some of his things at Chris’s place, including drafts of his poetry. While his soulmate refused to speak to him, Chris read them. 
  * It took them a long time to reconcile fully, because neither of them had thought they would ever need to negotiate or discuss anything. They ended happy, but Chris’s faith in the system was shaken by the experience, which is why he was supportive of Viktor.
  * Chris was one of the few people Viktor was able to talk honestly about his relationship troubles with, and they ended up becoming better friends because of it.



**YUURI’S SOULMATE**

  * Yuuri’s soulmate was horrified when her Device went off and his didn’t.
  * She did eventually track Yuuri down. He initially refused to see her, but Viktor convinced him to at least go reject her in person. (A part of Viktor was terrified Yuuri would leave him for her, but he felt it was better to encourage the meeting now and to get it over with.)
  * The rejection from her soulmate caused her a lot of pain. She struggled with anger and depression for a long time, for almost three years, and finally chose to have her Device removed. She never tried to contact Yuuri again and actively avoided any mention of him for the rest of her life; though she met someone and went on to have a good life, and even ended up supporting unMatch rights, she never quite forgave him. The pain was just too great.



Did they live happily ever after?

  * It wasn’t always easy, and it wasn’t always enjoyable.
  * But yes. They lived happily for the rest of their days, and had the pleasure of slowly seeing the world around them become a little more accepting of them.
  * They always had each other. They always chose each other. And they never regretted that choice.



 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Leave your questions in the comments if you have them; I'l answer them as best I can!


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